Company History

Beginnings

The story of JAM Paper & Envelope begins in New York City in 1954, when Henry Berger opened Hudson Envelope as a paper and envelope wholesaler and printing service. In 1983, Henry's son-in-law, Michael Jacobs, would open Hudson Envelope's first retail store in New Jersey called JAM Paper & Envelope.

Michael Jacobs standing in front of Hudson Envelope's Manhattan location in 1978. Five years later, Jacobs would open JAM Paper's first store.

JAM Expands into New York City

The New Jersey store's success inspired Michael to expand the business into New York City. That mission was accomplished in just three years later in 1986, with a second store opening in Manhattan. During this time, JAM started gaining massive popularity among the city's trendy shoppers who appreciated the company's colorful and "funky" stationery products. Over the course of 19 years, JAM has had over 10 different Manhattan locations. Its current location is on Third Avenue between 14th and 15th streets.

JAM Paper's second Manhattan location on 19th Street and Sixth Avenue, where it remained in business for seven years before moving locations. Its current location is on Third Avenue between 14th and 15th streets.

The Store at 135 Third Avenue

JAM's flagship store at 135 Third Avenue opened in March, 2004 and remains open today. It serves as one of the premier office, school, and stationery supply stores in NYC. Racked.com agreed by including the store in their 2015 article, "Take Note: 20 of the Best Stationery Shops in NYC".

New Warehouses

Perhaps JAM's biggest growth indicator is warehouse transitions and additions. Prior to 1999, JAM kept all of its inventory stored in various NYC basements!

1999 - JAM acquired its first warehouse - a 10,000 sq. ft. building in Tenafly, New Jersey.

2009 - JAM moved to a bigger, 40,000 sq ft. warehouse and office space in neighboring Northvale, New Jersey.

2016 - JAM doubled its warehouse and office space with a second 40,000 sq ft. building also in Northvale.

From left: Michael, Hunter, and Andrew stand in front of the new warehouse (December, 2015).

All this moving required JAM to get its first truck - a 24' beauty affectionately known as "The Paper Boy."

Jampaper.com

The 1990s and the rise of the internet changed the commerce landscape for businesses around the world. JAM Paper was no exception. In 1996, the company launched Jampaper.com, an online catalog that was used mainly for referral purposes and additional information. In 2007, Michael's son, Andrew, decided that JAM Paper needed a stronger online presence and functionality. Andrew then built out an e-commerce site for his father, enabling customers to buy JAM Paper products online. Since then, Jampaper.com has revamped its appearance multiple times.

Jampaper.com's first website in 1996 (top left). It underwent a redesign in 2006 (top right). In 2007, it went through another redesign and added e-commerce functionality (bottom left). Today, JAM has a clean, simple appearance that focuses on good user experience (bottom right).

Jampaper.com underwent a lot of changes in 2015, most notably adding responsive design for its mobile site which allows customers to navigate the site easily on their smartphones and tablets. Additionally, JAM added customer ratings and reviews and Q&A functionality on all product pages, allowing shoppers to shop smarter and connect with the company easier.

Growing Online Presence

In 2011, JAM Paper launched a web store on Amazon.com, marking the first time JAM products could be found outside of Jampaper.com and its physical stores.

In 2013-2015, JAM continued expanding online by launching its products on Staples.com, Officedepot.com, Walmart.com, and Target.com.

In 2017, JAM Paper was recognized by Internet Retailer as a top 1000 internet retailer.